Between 2020 and 2024, the sale of allergy medicine for animals increased by 54 percent, according to the E-health Authority, which sees clear peaks in prescriptions during the spring and summer.
57 percent of the antihistamines prescribed are for dogs, and the prescription has increased by 19 percent between 2020 and 2024. Even though there are no figures, veterinarians can confirm that allergies are increasing.
The absolute most common allergy among dogs is against dust mites, says Emma Lindblad Åström, who is a veterinarian at Anicura and works with allergy patients.
I definitely experience a peak in the spring and summer. I think that most are dust mite allergy sufferers at heart, but that they can also become sensitive in connection with high pollen counts.
New Study
A few years ago, a study showed that allergy medicine for humans also works for dogs, something that may have contributed to the increase in prescriptions, believes Lotta Bjerketorp, veterinarian at Evidensia.
One chooses to prescribe it instead of slightly stronger medications that have higher risks.
In contrast to us humans, dogs do not primarily experience problems with runny eyes and nose, she explains.
The absolute most common manifestation of allergy in dogs is itching and redness of the skin and ear infections, i.e., they swell up in the ears and become inflamed.
One must recognize the signs and not think that a dog is lying and licking its paws to clean itself, but rather that it does so because it itches.
Relatively Rare
The prescription of antihistamines for horses has increased the most, an increase of 120 percent since 2020. However, it is still relatively rare and is prescribed on individual occasions, says Monika Wartel, who is the senior veterinarian for horses at the District Veterinarians.
She believes that the increase for horses is due to the fact that one can prescribe such large quantities.
Horses are, after all, so much heavier than humans that it becomes a very large number of tablets for the patients who use it. If you go from a low level to a few more, it becomes a big percentage difference, she says.
